"No child should grow up alone. StreetInvest exists to invest in those that do"

"Growing up on the Streets" Peer Network

StreetInvest’s Research project has now established a peer network of NGOs working with street children in Africa. In addition to the three ‘host organisations’ working in Ghana, Zimbabwe and Eastern Congo, we now have members working in Zambia, Western Cape, Mozambique, Morocco, Tanzania and Kenya. The role of this peer group is to receive and comment upon the findings of the research as it emerges; providing constructive criticism and contributing experience from their own context. It is a further way for StreetInvest to disseminate and champion the research.

At stages during the research period we hope to share:

• comments upon the findings emerging from the research undertaken in Accra, Bukavu and Harare;
• participation in online debates on issues arising from the research with street children – drawing on your own experience and contextual practice;
• views to challenge and help to validate key policy messages being developed from the research – it is intended that these messages will be directed to international governmental organisations and donor bodies;
• promotion of networking and a sharing of experience and good practice among NGOs working with street children in Africa

Members

Friends of the Street Children (FSC) – ZambiaFriends of the Street Children (FSC) is a registered NGO dedicated to addressing the needs of Street Children in Zambia. FSC envision a society where every child grows and lives in a supportive family environment; a society in which children are enabled to achieve their full potential by growing in a secure, stable, caring and loving environment that ensures adequate nutrition, good health, physical and emotional security, and the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. The FSC mission is to help street children become responsible and happy members of society. They want to enable street children to return to their families or foster care or other appropriate institutions, to provide material support to children whilst in care, to provide education and life skills in order for children to become responsible citizens, to provide children with social, moral, spiritual and cultural guidance in order to instil in them positive values and behavioural patterns, to create awareness on the plight of street children and its causes, to promote community involvement in finding solutions and to advocate for children’s rights and protect their human rights. FSC has designed programmes to efficiently and effectively provide quality services to the street children in its care since its founding in 2001. The major programmes include Street Outreach, Child Rehabilitation, Child Reintegration and Advocacy programmes. WEBSITE

Bayti – MoroccoCreated in 1995, Bayti is a Non-Governmental Organisation focused on children in difficult circumstances; the main objective is to defend and promote children’s rights through various activities, programs and projects. Bayti is the first Moroccan programme to have openly focused on children living in difficult circumstances, which are often considered as taboo issues. Moreover, it has been offering protection and care to vulnerable children namely children living and/or working in the street, child workers (little maids), child victims of violence, abuse, and sexual exploitation, neglected children, unaccompanied migrants, children in conflict with law, and child victims of parental violence and abuse. Bayti also reaches out to children’s families to empower parents with an overall aim to reintegrate as many children as possible to their families.
Bayti is based in 3 regions in Morocco. However, its reputation exceeds the national borders and it is well known on an international scale. Its constant work has been the result of its partnership strategies and networking development. So far, the association has provided activities to more than 18,000 children and brought support to more than 10,000 families. WEBSITE (french)

Mkombozi – Tanzania

Mkombozi (meaning "liberator, emancipator" in Swahili) supports Tanzania's vulnerable children and youth, through housing, education, research, advocacy, and outreach. Initially established in 1997 as a live-in residential center and safe haven for children living on the streets, Mkombozi has expanded its vision over the years. In addition to working with children already living / working on the streets, Mkombozi works to end the abuse and neglect of children, to ensure that children's rights are recognised, and to identify opportunities for intervention before children migrate to the street. Today, alongside being internationally recognised, Mkombozi is one of the leading child-focused agencies in northern Tanzania, working with over 1,000 children and families a year in Kilimanjaro and Arusha Regions.
Their work involves: researching and addressing the root causes that drive children to come to the streets, enabling communities to value and protect vulnerable children, offering education and work opportunities to each individual child which captures their innate potential, strengthening family-based care of children who live / work on the streets and HIV orphans, offering safety, love, food and medical care for children and youth at their residential centre, working with children who live / work on the streets to break cycles of dysfunction, building problem-solving skills, facilitating conflict-management, teaching life skills and raise popular awareness of the issues facing young people.
This is carried out with an ethos with focusses on the importance of co-operation and involvement with street children and wider society to achieve holistic community development. WEBSITE